The Colonel's Umbrella
by T-phon
Summary: Riza Hawkeye failed to keep Roy Mustang safe from the rain once, and she has sworn to never let that happen again.


**The Colonel's Umbrella**

 **Written for Royai Week - Day 5: Rain**

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Engrossed in work, it took several moments for Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye to realize that the office was getting darker at a time when the afternoon sun usually lit up the room. Focusing on the document she was reading, she waited until she had finished the paragraph and signed the page to lift her head. She turned her face toward the window, missing the sunshine that often warmed her right cheek. Her eyes took in the swiftly moving clouds, building up quick and grey with the promise of a storm. It was going to rain.

Havoc sighed from across the room. He must have noticed that something other than paperwork had caught her attention. "Looks like rain." He chewed for a moment on his unlit cigarette, joining Riza in staring out the window. "Are you going to take the Colonel an umbrella?"

Riza closed her eyes and nodded. "I always do." She didn't bother to correct him on the rank, that Roy Mustang was a Major General, now. She opened her eyes and began rummaging through the drawers of her desk, searching for the spare umbrella she kept at the office for instances such as this. It wasn't until she had scoured the contents of the entire desk that she remembered she had taken the umbrella to Roy the last time it had rained, over a week ago, and had subsequently brought it home to her apartment with her. She mentally groaned, stealing another glance out the window. "I'll have to go buy one now, if I'm going to make it in time."

"Ask Fuhrer Grumman if you can leave work early. I'm sure he'll understand." Breda shuffled his pile of completed paperwork until every edge matched perfectly.

Riza nodded. Since Roy's promotion (she still refused to think of it as anything but that), his desk had remained empty while Grumman supposedly worked on selecting a colonel he felt would be suitable to lead the team. It had been two months. They all knew that, sooner or later, the team would be disbanded and dispersed throughout Amestris. No one dared say it, though.

She slowly got out of her chair and circled the room, collecting any work that had been completed. She quietly left and walked swiftly down the hallway to the Fuhrer's office, dropping the paperwork off along the way.

"Come in," her grandfather replied when she softly knocked. His assistant opened the door for her, and she entered.

"Fuhrer Grumman, I-"

"You may go."

"Sir?"

Her grandfather's eyes were completely obscured by his glasses, onto which the lamp from his desk cast a glare. "The clouds are getting darker by the minute. It's going to be a heavy rain."

"Yes, sir."

"Go see Mustang. It's been over a week since you last saw him, hasn't it?"

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

Riza hurried out of the office and out of Central Command, making her way to the convenience store on the closest street corner. Her grandfather had been right - the sky was quickly darkening.

The small store had a meager selection of umbrellas, but the small, navy-blue one that Riza picked out was suitable enough.

"Lieutenant Hawkeye?"

Riza, usually so perceptive and aware of her surroundings, had hardly recognized the blonde man standing in front of her in the checkout line. She let herself smile. "Edward! What are you doing in Central?"

"Still working on alchemy research. I may not technically be an alchemist anymore, but the military let me keep the pocket watch and lets me use the rebuilt library. Al's train from Xing gets in tonight, and we've already planned to stop by headquarters tomorrow to see how everyone's doing." He grinned as he handed his money to the cashier. His gaze fell on the umbrella in Riza's hands. His smile wavered. "Is that for the Colonel- I mean, Major General?"

"It is."

He studied her face. "You're still taking him an umbrella, huh?" Riza's face must have shown confusion, because Edward explained, "Gracia and Winry still write to each other, and Gracia tells her what everyone in Central is up to. She mentioned you and Mustang in the last one."

Riza nodded, understanding, suddenly too tired to respond with words. She pulled her wallet from her bag to pay for the umbrella, but Edward was shaking his head. He pulled his own wallet back out of his pocket and handed a bill to the cashier. He grinned again. "Tell Mustang that this counts as paying back the money I owe him!"

He disappeared out the door of the store with his purchases before Riza could respond.

Riza could already smell the rain as she walked through the well-maintained grass toward Roy. She had made it just in time. She sank to her knees next to him and pulled the umbrella from her bag.

"I brought you another umbrella," she said as she opened it. "We both know how useless you are when it rains." She nestled the handle into the soft earth so that it stayed steady when she propped the metal rod against the carved granite stone.

She knew that her coming here to deliver an umbrella was both an excuse and an act of denial. The idea that Roy Mustang no longer needed her was unfathomable to Riza; knowing that there was nothing she could do to help him now weighed on her like a heavy stone in her gut. She would continue their work in trying to build a better Amestris, but the dream had lost most of its sparkle when she lost the man behind it.

She hadn't been there that day. It had been her day off, and she had spent it running mundane, meaningless errands. Rain had been in the forecast, but she had been foolish enough to not give it much thought. According to reports on the incident, neither had Roy, who had proudly stared down the barrel of the gun held by his assassin, his hand raised to snap forth a flame that could not be produced with damp gloves. The reports said that it had been a quick death.

Riza was determined that Roy never spend another rainy day without her. She also knew how unrealistic that was. Central Command, which had initially been thrown into a state of shock by Roy's unexpected death, had since returned to its typical quick pace. Soon, Riza would have to join it.

The first rain drop to fall from the sky mingled with the first tear that trickled down her cheek. More rain drops, and more tears, soon followed. Riza would stay until the rain ended, and Roy no longer needed her. Riza glanced at the headstone next to Roy's. Maes Hughes' name was already beginning to fade, a victim to the elements. Her eyes flickered back to Roy's stone, shielded from the rain by the umbrella she had brought. Her fingers brushed over the carved name and dates, memorizing every indentation. She leaned forward and let her lips do the same. The granite was cool beneath her kiss. It was small, almost meaningless, but at least she could still continue to protect her useless colonel in some way. She lifted her face toward the sky, letting the rain pelt her cheeks. She no longer minded the rain; until it was over, it brought her and her colonel together once more.

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 **Please let me know what you think? Did you like/dislike it?**


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